The ’Faculdade de Agronegócios de Holambra’, an institute for higher education in horticultural studies, opened in Holambra on the 21st of June. It’s part of the University in the nearby municipality of Jaguariuna. We didn’t have any real horticultural education here before. You could take a few courses in Holambra, but nothing that was connected to an official educational institute, like the university. Most students ended up going to agricultural universities in faraway places to learn about the cultivation of coffee, soy, corn, sugar cane and citrus fruits, but they learn hardly anything about intensive cultivation such as greenhouse vegetables and floriculture.
Unlike in the Netherlands, the horticultural cluster in Brazil is still fairly new. The cultivation of plants and flowers in greenhouses started here in the late seventies, early eighties, a time when most farmers in Holambra were mainly concerned about the size of their tractor and/or the amount of cattle they had. Nobody really understood the first growers with their potted plants in a greenhouse. But once they saw that the money was good, more people became interested.
At the moment, we can see a rapid evolution. The pioneers from the eighties and nineties are slowly nearing the end of their working lives and almost all of the children are joining their parents in the company, with the idea of eventually taking over. Many of that younger generation have spent time abroad studying agriculture, doing internships, visiting trade shows – they know the floricultural sector through and through.
The fact that the next generation is ready to take over is a huge incentive for the families to invest. Many of them are investing in new greenhouses, renewing existing greenhouses and crops and looking for new opportunities with regards to crops and distribution channels. As a result, the entire horticultural cluster is developing and growing: the auction, the purchasing cooperative, suppliers, greenhouse builders, software and transport companies as well as the trade
Brazil is a country with great potential. Despite the current economic and political crisis, the floricultural sector is characterised by healthy growth rates and good prospects for the future. Of course, they still need to capitalise on all those opportunities. But that’s a nice challenge for all those young people who are starting out now!
André van Kruijssen
Director Veiling Holambra, Brazil
